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HVAC marketing options · Metro Vancouver

Every option, straight.

If you're an HVAC contractor in Metro Vancouver trying to get more calls from Google, here's an honest look at every path — including the one that involves us. No soft-pedalling the trade-offs.

5 paths comparedAgency, in-house, generalist, DIY, and software. Local SEO lensFocused on calls from Google Maps, not vanity traffic. No lock-in biasCosts, time burden, and trade-offs shown plainly.
Side-by-side

Five paths.
Same goal.

Getting your HVAC company found on Google and converting searches into booked calls. Here's how each option stacks up on the things that matter.

Option Monthly cost Time required HVAC expertise Speed to results Best fit
Focused local-marketing agency
(e.g. Rankwise)		 Starter $450
Foundation $750
Growth $1,250
CAD/month		 ~30 min/mo ✓ Local-search focus 30–90 days Owner-ops wanting hands-off growth
Generalist agency $1,000–$3,000+ 1–2 hrs/mo ✗ Trade-agnostic 60–120 days Contractors who want a full-service shop
In-house marketing hire $4,500–$7,000
(salary + overhead)		 Management overhead — Depends on hire 90–180 days Multi-truck ops with budget to build in-house
DIY $0–$200
(tools only)		 5–10 hrs/week — What you learn Variable Bootstrapping or learning before outsourcing
Software platform
(e.g. ServiceTitan)		 $200–$700
(ops features, not SEO)		 Setup + adoption ✗ Not local SEO Not applicable Ops management + basic email/review tools
Do nothing $0 0 hrs — Referrals only Contractors who are fully booked by referral
Each option, honestly

Trade-offs that
actually matter.

What we do

Focused local-marketing agency

Focuses on local search for 11 local-service categories across the Lower Mainland, including HVAC, with one business per city, per category. Builds the Google listing and local-search content around your trade and market. Google or Meta ads are available on request as an add-on. Growth includes Local Video, planned; account connections and publishing are currently disabled.

Where it wins
HVAC-specific content, not generic marketing
Low operator time (30 min/mo after onboarding)
No conflict — one contractor per city
Month-to-month, milestone-backed accountability
Where it doesn't fit
Fixed plans: Starter $450, Foundation $750, Growth $1,250 CAD/month
Not instant — 30–90 day ramp
Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley only
Common choice

Generalist agency

Takes any client — HVAC, dental, retail, SaaS. Capable teams, but the person assigned to your account learns HVAC search intent on your dime. Content is slower to produce and tends to be generic.

Where it wins
Full-service (paid ads, social, SEO together)
Easier to find locally
Where it doesn't fit
Higher cost for the same local SEO work
No HVAC-specific depth on day one
May run two competing HVAC clients in your city
Owner-ops rarely picks this

In-house hire

A full-time marketing employee. Makes sense at scale — multiple trucks, meaningful content volume, enough work for 40 hours/week. For most HVAC shops under 10 people, it's an expensive way to get a junior generalist.

Where it wins
Dedicated resource aligned to your brand
Can own social, ads, SEO, and events
Where it doesn't fit
$55,000–$80,000/year before overhead
Hiring, managing, and replacing is your problem
Junior hires rarely have local SEO depth on day one
Starting point

DIY

You manage your own GBP, publish your own content, and build your own local citations. It works — some contractors do it well. The honest constraint is time: 5–10 hours/week sustained is a real ask for an owner running service calls.

Where it wins
Zero agency cost
Builds your own understanding of what moves the needle
Where it doesn't fit
5–10 hrs/week consistently — most owners can't sustain it
Steep learning curve for GBP + SEO + content together
Results depend entirely on your execution
Worth knowing

Doing nothing

Staying referral-only. This is a real, sustainable model — until it isn't. If a slow season hits, a key referral source dries up, or a competitor locks down the local Map Pack, there's no search presence to fall back on.

Where it works
Fully booked by referral with no capacity to grow
Happy staying at current revenue level
The risk
Referrals are unpredictable — no floor in a slow season
Competitors are building Map Pack presence while you wait
Starting from zero later costs more and takes longer
Common questions

Questions we get
about this decision.

What's the difference between a specialist HVAC marketing agency and a generalist agency?+
A specialist HVAC marketing agency works only with HVAC contractors, builds deep knowledge of HVAC-specific search intent (furnace repair, heat pump installation, AC service), and can move faster because they're not learning your trade. A generalist agency takes any client — HVAC, dental, retail — and applies the same broad process. For local search in a competitive market like Metro Vancouver, specialist knowledge and HVAC-specific content are significant advantages.
Should an HVAC contractor hire in-house marketing staff or use an agency?+
In-house marketing makes sense when you have enough volume to justify a full salary ($55,000–$80,000/year), need constant creative output, and can manage a full-time employee. For most owner-operated HVAC shops in Metro Vancouver, an agency delivers more output per dollar — a local SEO agency charges a fixed monthly fee (Rankwise's fixed plans are Starter $450, Foundation $750 and Growth $1,250 CAD/month) and brings systems, tools, and experience that a single junior hire won't have on day one.
Can an HVAC contractor do their own local SEO and Google Business Profile management?+
Yes — and some do it effectively. The trade-off is time: a consistent GBP posting cadence, review response strategy, and SEO content program takes 5–10 hours per week to do well. Most HVAC contractors running service calls, estimates, and team logistics can't realistically sustain that. DIY works best as a short-term step to understand the basics before outsourcing.
What does a platform like ServiceTitan actually provide for HVAC marketing?+
ServiceTitan is primarily field service management software — dispatching, invoicing, customer records — with some marketing features (email campaigns, review requests) bolted on. It's not a replacement for local SEO or Google Business Profile optimization. Most HVAC contractors use ServiceTitan for operations and a separate agency or specialist for search visibility.
What happens if an HVAC contractor does nothing about marketing?+
Most HVAC contractors who do nothing about search visibility survive on referrals — which works until a slow season, a competitor invests in Google Maps, or a key referral source dries up. In Metro Vancouver, the top 3 Map Pack positions capture the majority of non-referral HVAC calls. Contractors outside those positions effectively don't exist for homeowners searching on Google.
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ZS
Zack Shefrin — Founder, Rankwise Specialist local-search services. One business per city, per category. Your audit call is with our founder.
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